Poke

We are super lucky here in San Diego to be able to get fresh fish direct from the fishing boats here in San Diego.  Our go-to source has been Haworth Fish, we get their email (or see on Instagram or Facebook) when they have a boat in and pick the fish up at the dock (they are also at some the farmer's markets and they deliver). The other great source is the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Saturday mornings. 

The fish available include opah (large sunfish), yellowtail, ahi (yellowfin tuna), and last week we got bluefin tuna (maguro).  They sometimes have black cod.  To cook opah or yellowtail we normally do the super easy "fish on foil" technique on the grill (and make sure to not overcook it.. it gets pulled with the internal temp is about 125F).   The cod gets a flour and cornmeal dusting and then pan fried, it's a nice delicate fish. 

But one of my new favorites is to make Poke.  Poke is a traditional Hawaiian food, but is now heavily influenced by Japanese flavors and served in many customized ways.  This recipe is fairly heavy on the marinade, and is in the "bowl" form ... rice (although you can use noodles) topped with the fish then garnished to your hearts content.  

Poke goes together quickly ... I usually do all the vegetable cutting for the garnish (arrange on a platter if you are setting out for people to make their own bowls), then the onions, then the fish.  So one knife, one cutting board.  Put the seasonings on the fish, mix, and it's ready.  But it can wait for a while in the fridge if you want to do ahead. 

I get all the vegetable chopping done before getting the tuna out..

Then chop the tuna..

Add the seasonings then make the bowls. 

Poke

 

This is best the same day, but leftovers are still ok the next day… 

 

Serves 2-4 as a main  

 

Garnish (pick 2 or more): 

Thinly sliced cucumbers, radishes

Shaved or shredded carrots, cabbage 

Sliced bell pepper, hot peppers

Avocado Slices

Sprouts, cilantro or microgreens

 

 

¼ cup thinly sliced sweet onion

½ cup chopped green onions, green part only

1 pound sashimi-grade ahi tuna (can use either yellowfin or blue fin tuna), cut into ¾” cubes

¼ teaspoon gochutgaru (Korean red chili flakes) or other chili powder to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted macadamia nuts (optional)

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (or a bit more if not using macadamia nuts)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salt to taste

 

Steamed rice for serving

 

Prepare ingredients for garnish and set aside. 

 

Slice onions and place into a medium-large bowl.  Get the ahi out of the fridge, cube and add to onions.  Add remaining ingredients, and gently stir together.  Taste and add salt if needed.  Can be served immediately, but best to refrigerate for 10 minutes or more. 

 

Make a poke bowl with some rice, top with poke, add garnishes. 

 

A day at the beach

 

Some days are better than others. Last Friday was one of better.  Perfect weather, nice waves. Not too much kelp.   

Boogie boards... an amazing amount of fun for something that's pretty easy to do in the right waves. 

Surfing... something that looks easy but takes skill.  It helps when you start when your 5 and not 50. That didn't stop me from trying though.  I'm very proud that I actually got up, on my own.  Like I said, the waves were good (as in good and not too big). 

Especially nice was having family around.  It's rare to get all the family together at once, and this was no exception. For dinner my dad and brother and niece were there, my husband was home, and his folks came over.. not everyone, but a nice gathering none the less.  The plan was to highlight the fish caught on the 5-day fishing trip my dad and brother just returned from.  We had yellowtail and yellow-fin tuna.  The plan for the tuna was to just season with salt and pepper, and cook on high heat for just a minute or two per side, which resulted in a nice rare interior. The fillets were sliced for a pretty presentation.  Really good, really simple.  

The yellowtail was grilled on foil, similar to the way I do salmon.  It's simple too, but the salmon recipe seems more complicated, as it includes a sauce and seems limited to salmon.  I wanted to include the more generic version because its the way I cook fish at least 80% of the time.  We had 3 chefs tending the grill, resulting in perfectly cooked fish. The dinner was rounded out with brown rice, a green bean salad (I''ll get the recipe for the lemon-mustard dressing posted as soon as I make it again and measure amounts), and a peach salsa (something like this, but with peaches instead of mangos).  For dessert, we had grilled figs on vanilla gelato.  A good day overall. 

Fish Grilled on Foil

This is my go-to method for cooking any meaty fish, like yellowtail, halibut, salmon, as well as some of the local sea bass and baqueta grouper we get. 

Fish fillets (best if about ¾ - 1 inch thick)
Olive oil
Lemon or lime juice
Salt, Pepper
Green herb like garlic chives, dill, or parsley

Preheat a gas grill to medium (350-400F).  Make a foil pan:  get a piece of foil that’s a bit over 2x the size of the fillets side by side.  Fold the foil in half (I always do shiny side out, but not sure it matters).  Lay the fillets on the foil, skin side down if they have skin, with maybe a ½ inch between them. If there are thin tail sections, fold the thin part under to get a more even thickness.  Fold up the sides of the foil to make a ½ inch lip around the fish.  Put a thin coating of oil on top of the fish pieces, and if they are skinless, put a little oil under the fillets too.  Squeeze a little lemon or lime juice on top, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Top with a nice sprinkle of herbs.  Place the foil on the grill, over the burners.  Cook until just done.  I plan for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, but start testing sooner.

Spring... really

Yes, it is still technically spring, no matter how many days in a row it’s been over 100F.

I can hardly believe that I have not yet posted one of my long time favorite recipes, Shrimp and Asparagus.  There is still some good California asparagus in the markets, use that if you can.  The asparagus from Mexico is usually OK, and skip it if you can only get asparagus from Peru.  During the fall and winter months, you can substitute sugar or snap peas.  And as long as I am being a snob on food sources, I would also like to suggest skipping any non – American (or Canadian) shrimp.  There are lots of problems with farm raised shrimp from Asia (both environmental and health issues), as well as environmental issues with non-North American wild shrimp.  Unfortunately, the only place I have been able to buy US-sourced shrimp is Whole Foods.  Buy frozen raw shrimp (medium to large size) in the shell.  Thaw in a colander by running some water over them (on and off, takes about 15 minutes).  Or, if you are the type to plan ahead, you can thaw in the refrigerator.

Back to the goodness of this dish…. It’s great to serve for company – a very nice looking dish, and except for the 5 minutes it takes to cook, you can do all the prep work ahead of time.  I generally serve with rice. 

Sesame Shrimp and Asparagus

4 - 6 servings
Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 pounds asparagus
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 cup oil
2 small onions, sliced
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and cleaned
4 teaspoons soy sauce

Trim asparagus and cut into 2-inch pieces.  Set aside.  In large skillet, toast sesame seeds over medium heat until golden, stirring and shake occasionally.  Remove seeds and set aside.  Add oil to skillet.  Over medium heat, stir-fry asparagus, onions, and shrimp until shrimp turn pink and vegetables are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.  Stir in seeds and soy sauce. 

Peasant Food

So much for posting every Sunday or Monday on “what in the box” … its Saturday, Sunday, I am thinking I really need to get around posting on what to do with the turnips we got 2 weeks ago.  At least turnips keep!

I’m not sure if you can get a vegetable any more “peasant-ish” than turnips, and mussels might be the protein equivalent.   So I paired the two up for a nice dinner.   To someone who grew up in the desert, mussels are a bit scary.  Most recipes talk about de-bearding, getting the sand out, etc.  But mussels today (at least when you get them at AJ’s) are already clean.  The only trick is to make sure they are alive.   Make sure you buy them the day you cook them (the person at the fish counter will sort usually sort through and get live ones).  When you get them home, open the plastic bag so then can breathe.  I put the bag in a bowl with some ice, and a wet paper towel on top and keep them in the fridge..  When you are ready to cook, rinse in a colander, and get rid of any that don’t close.  You might need to tap them to make them close – those are still OK.   Then put into the pot and cook (see below)… and if any don’t open, don’t eat.  It’s really pretty simple, and they are so good.  And good for you!   Don’t forget some bread to soak up the broth.

Mussels Sailor-Style (if you are a French Sailor)

Adopted from Jaques Pepin’s Complete Techniques.  Figure a little under 1 pound of mussels per person for a main dish.

2 - 5 lbs mussels
1 cup chopped onions
1clove garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Dash (or sprig) of Thyme
1 bay leaf
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup white wine

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover, place on high heat and bring to a boil.
Keep cooking for about 10 minutes.  Twice while they are cooking, lift the kettle with both hands, your thumbs holding the cover, and shake the kettle in an up-and-down motion to toos the mussels.  They should all open.  Do not overcook or they will toughen.  Serve in shallow bowls with some of the broth on top.   Save (and freeze) any extra broth for fish soup.

There was a great recipe a while back in Fine Cooking on how to roast vegetables… practically any vegetable (from peas to cauliflower to squash to root vegetables) like turnips!  I added a carrot to the turnip for some color..

Roasted Turnips and Carrots
First, heat the oven on to 450 – 475F.  Trim and peel a turnip (or two), start with about a pound plus a big carrot for some color.  Cut everything into ¾ to 1 inch pieces. Put on a cooking sheet covered with parchment, add tablespoons or so of olive oil and a bit of salt.  Mix to distribute the oil.  Spread evenly, and put into the oven.  After 10 minutes, stir and make sure chunks are turned.  Cook for another 10 or 15 minutes, until tender and done.  They should have brown spots and edges.  Remove from the oven, add some more salt (some finishing salt  if you have it), and maybe a squirt of lemon juice (hey.. this was in this week’s box!)   Serve hot.

What’s missing?

Now that I have a recipe index, I am being informed of what is missing from it.  Mostly it has been my fish taco recipe, but our most favorite recipe for Salmon is also missing.  So here they are (I suspect my web master will quickly teach me to update the index).

Fish Tacos

I generally use Albacore to make these (generally have a lot in the freezer from the annual fishing trip my Dad and Brother's go on), but you can use pretty much any fish..   I had some mystery fish in the freezer labeled with a "P"...  it turned out to be Pargo, which turns out to make REALLY good fish tacos!

3 – 4  servings

Fish Part:
¾ cup beer
¾ cup flour (replace about 2 tablespoons of white flour with whole wheat if you have it)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 – 1 ¼ pounds albacore or other firm white fish (like tilapia), cut into strips ~ 3” x 1” x ½ “
~ 3 tablespoons canola oil

Place beer, flour, spices in blender and blend until smooth, scraping down side as needed. Transfer batter to a shallow baking dish or bowl. Add fish, turning to coat all sides.
Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Transfer one half (Don’t crowd fish in the pan, cook in 3 groups if needed) of the battered fish to the pan, placing each piece into a little oil.  Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer cooked fish to a plate, keep warm.  Add 1 more tablespoon oil to pan and cook remaining fish.  Reduce heat if needed.

Secret Sauce
About ¾ cup yogurt (or low fat sour cream)
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Chile powder (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Juice of ½ lime (or more if not a juicy lime)

Whisk together in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat (best if you make up a hour or so ahead of time.  This keeps for a couple of days.

To Serve:
• Heat up corn or small flour tortilla’s.   The best way to heat corn tortillas is in a dry pan or on the grill.   The microwave with a damp towel works good with flour tortillas.
• Shred up cabbage (or buy pre-shredded), add some chopped cilantro if you like. 
• Other extras include diced tomato or fresh salsa, avocado or guacamole, sliced radishes, lime wedges
Put some fish in a warm tortilla or two, add a good spoonful of sauce, cabbage, and any of the extra’s.

Grilled Salmon with Jalapeno Sauce

This a quick way and nice salmon dinner...  or you can do a whole half a salmon for a big gathering.  Add some sautéed spinach and French bread to round out the meal --  and be ready in a half hour.  The salmon is also good without the sauce.  Sprinkle a little dill (or other herb) on top before cooking.

2 servings, can be doubled or tripled,  

¾  to 1-pound salmon fillet
1  tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 ½  teaspoons olive oil
Salt, Pepper

Sauce
1 ½ teaspoons butter
1-2 jalapeno chilies, seeded and cut julienne
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste
Snipped fresh chives or green onion tops
Lime wedges

Heat grill on high. Put a large piece of foil on a plate, fold in half, and fold up sides about 1/2" -- foil tray should be large enough to hold fillet. Place salmon skin side down on foil.  Brush salmon with olive oil, then sprinkle with lime juice, salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes (or at least five minutes). Place foil with fillet on grill, turn down grill to medium or medium high (looking for ~450oF) and cook until fish is almost opaque, about 9 minutes per inch of thickness.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce:  Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add chilies and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, add yogurt and stir; do not boil (it will curdle if it gets too hot).  Mix in lime juice.  Add salt and pepper.

Transfer fish to platter (skin will stick to foil).  Spoon sauce over. Sprinkle generously with chives.  Garnish with lime wedges.

New and improved: Linguine with Clams and Pancetta

With the new year and some time on my hands, I have been going through the closets and getting rid of stuff that I don’t use or is broke.  Although I don’t consider myself a real pack rat, I do sometimes have trouble getting rid of stuff.  I like to use things until they are worn out, or use something and be done with it (like a book) and pass it on.  Just getting rid of something because I made a bad decision to buy it bothers me (ok, so I’m a cheapskate!).   But something I like to do  is get rid of old recipes (especially ones that aren't getting used anymore) and replace with new and better.  Although there is some trial and error involved, it usually doesn’t contribute to the trash.  

One recipe I have recently tossed is  my old Linguine with Clam Sauce which (horrors) used Jack Cheese.  The new version uses pancetta (Italian bacon), plus some red pepper flakes which makes it work with canned clams. Pancetta can be a bit hard to find, but you can freeze it (just like bacon), and use a slice or two at a time as needed.    And don't hesitate to mess with the recipe!   This also works with regular bacon, or with the addition of a handful of chopped spinach. 

Linguine with Clams and Pancetta

Serves 2-3

½ pound linguine
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 oz pancetta, sliced and cut into ½ inch squares
2 shallots, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 6 ½ oz cans chopped clams
1 cup white wine
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta, when it comes to a boil, add salt and cook pasta.   Goal is to have the sauce (below) ready to add the al dente pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil (medium or medium high heat), add pancetta, cook until just starting to crisp.  Add shallots, garlic, and crushed red pepper, cook about 3 minutes.   Add clam juice and wine, bring to a boil and cook for a few more minutes at rapid boil.  Add the clams, then add the cooked linguine (best just to take directly from the pasta pot with large tongs, ok if some pasta water comes along).  If sauce is dry, add some more pasta water.   Cook for another minute or so, then add parsley, pepper and additional salt if needed (taste first – you likely have enough salt from clams and pasta water).

Fish and more

Yesterday I went down to my folks to help with fish butchering,  my Dad and brothers were back from a 5-day fishing trip out of San Diego with a bunch of large fish – mostly Albacore, but some Bluefin Tuna and Yellowtail too.  You’ve gotta love a family who likes to get together with big sharp knives.   We tried a new way to skin the albacore (which was demonstrated on the boat by the cook), which was pretty quick, but usually took off a chunk of the belly meat.  I have heard that on some fish (like Salmon), the belly is the best part, so we decided to cut off the chunk and save it was kind of thin and small for cooking.  My idea was to make fish burgers from it, my brother was thinking a doing some kind of a quick sear on it like he does with bluefin.  Everyone else just thought we were nuts (but had the biggest knives).   Anyway, I did make fish burgers with the belly meat when I got home (with a large cooler full of fish, nicely vacuum packed), and they turned out quite yummy.  

The more:  we spent last weekend in Colorado Springs (where the daily high temperatures were lower than lows in Phoenix) with wonderful friends who also love to cook and eat, and dish which got the most raves was crab cakes.   Which are the more famous cousins of fish burgers.    We had with a bit of mango salsa.  Yum yum.   Both recipes are below.

One note, there is a trick on cooking both of these (which had very similar consistency before going into the pan):  you need to flip once.   You need to very carefully peak to see if they are brown on the bottom.  A well seasoned pan, or non-stick skillet is another must.  Good eating!

Also – does anyone have any experience buying crab in Phoenix?  I am sure that AJ’s and Whole Foods must carry it, but have never seen it (maybe because I haven’t looked) at the fish counter.

Fish Burgers:

1 ½  teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup minced red bell pepper
1 lb tuna, chopped in ¼ inch or smaller dice
1 egg, lightly beaten
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt, the mustard is already pretty salty)
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil

Start with making a fruit salsa… see the next recipe, mango salsa, or your favorite (you might even be able to find one pre-made, but it only takes a few minutes to put one together, especially since you are already chopping onion and bell pepper).

Saute the onion and bell pepper until soft in the smaller about of oil (use a large pan, you will use again to cook the burgers).  Transfer to a medium bowl, and let cool.  Add the fish, mustard, egg, parsley, a bit of salt and some pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon. Put a piece of plastic wrap on a place, form 4 patties on the wrap, and cover with more plastic.  Refrigerate for an hour (or at least 20 minutes, I suspect they will hold together better if let sit longer).   To cook, heat a nice layer of olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Pan fry, flipping once, until each side is lightly brown and crispy (about 4 minutes per side).

Serve on buns, with lettuce, and salsa, I like a little mayo too.

Pineapple (or plum) Salsa

1 cup chopped Pineapple or plum
¼ cup finely chopped onion (green or sweet are good)
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons minced ginger

Mix all together in a glass or ceramic bowl, refrigerate (best if sits for an hour or so, this will hold for a couple of days).      Next day – good with chips, in a salad with some goat cheese, etc. 

Crab Cakes (see hear for original and reviews)Adopted from The Barefoot Contessa

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup small diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 1/2 cups small diced celery (4 stalks)
1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/2 cup small diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, drained and picked to remove shells
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten for frying
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Place the 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons oil, onion, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, capers, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, crab boil seasoning, salt, and pepper in a large saute pan over medium-low heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, break the lump crabmeat into small pieces and toss with the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs. Add the cooked mixture and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

Heat the butter and olive oil for frying over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the large spoonfuls of crab mixture, flatten into patties (epxect to get 6-8) and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels; keep them warm in a 250 degree oven and serve hot.   Can also do a bite sized for a party, they reheat very well.